Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Crazy Cat Lady
So, I just added the picture of Daisy to my sidebar of the blog. I think I picked the third one for those of you that voted. I realized that I have now become a crazy cat lady. We were only going to be a two cat family and now we are a three cat family. We are officially outnumbered by our pets. I guess that means we need to balance it out now with more people!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Potato Soup... from SCRATCH!
So I've been trying to try some new things specifically with cooking. I got the idea to try this fun meal from a friend's blog here. She has links to other blogs with the actual recipes. I actually made this the night of Halloween, which I wouldn't recommend because it is very time intensive. We really liked the soup and it was EXCELLENT for leftovers. (I really HATE leftovers so this is quite the accomplishment.) The bread bowls weren't really worth the time, but I always find making bread so interesting (the whole 3 times that I've done it).
Recipe for the Potato Soup:
Ingredients:
-4 large baking potatoes
-2/3 cup butter
-2/3 cup flour
-6 cups milk
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1 1/2 (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
(I usually add more because I love cheese)
-12 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
-4 green onions, chopped and divided
-1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
Instructions:
Wash potatoes; prick several times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until done; cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp and reserve. Discard shells. Use a potato masher to mash the potato so it isn't so chunky.
Melt butter in a big pot over low heat; add flour stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium to medium heat high; stirring constantly until thick and bubbly (at least 30 minutes).
Stir in potato, salt, pepper, 1 cup cheese (I just do a big handful which is probably more than one cup), 1/2 cup bacon, and 2 tablespoons green onions. Cook until heated.
Stir in sour cream; cook just until heated (don't boil). Sprinkle servings with remaining cheese, bacon and onion and enjoy!
Recipe for Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls:
Ingredients:
-1/4 cup warm water
-1 cup tepid water
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
-3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
-1 beaten egg white
Instructions:
Pour the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes to activate the yeast. Once the top is foamy with bubbles, pour the yeast mixture into your mixing bowl. Also add the other cup of water and the salt. Mix this together. Add some drops of food coloring to color the water a nice orange color. I used liquid food coloring and put about 4 drops of red and 6 drops of yellow.
Next, attach the dough hook to the mixer. Add the flour a little bit at a time. Keep kneading the dough for another 2 minutes after all the flour is in. You’ll see a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Spray a large bowl with oil. Place dough into the oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let rise for 1 hour. It should double in size.
Flour your surface and rolling pin. Punch down the dough and remove it from the bowl. Remove a small handful of dough and add some green food coloring to it. Knead the dough to mix the color as thoroughly as possible and set aside. Knead the rest of your orange dough. Separate into 5 small round balls (for kid sized bread bowls) or make 4 round balls for a larger bread bowl.
Set your round dough balls on a greased cookie sheet. Take the green dough and make 4 or 5 small stems by making little round balls. Place the stems on the top and middle of your orange dough balls. Cover it again with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for another 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough is ready, beat the egg white and brush the top of the dough. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. When you tap it, it should sound hollow. Allow it to cool before slicing. Slice the top of the pumpkin bowl off and hollow out the inside of the pumpkin to make a hole for your soup to sit in. Now, fill with your favorite soup!
Here are some pictures from my cooking experience!
I've actually made the potato soup again since we tried it the first time. I got a potato masher instead of bending up my wire whisk again. I'm trying to find an easier way to mash up the potatoes. It takes an hour in the oven before I can even start skinning and mashing. Does anyone know if you can do this process in the microwave faster without losing quality?
Recipe for the Potato Soup:
Ingredients:
-4 large baking potatoes
-2/3 cup butter
-2/3 cup flour
-6 cups milk
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1 1/2 (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
(I usually add more because I love cheese)
-12 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
-4 green onions, chopped and divided
-1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
Instructions:
Wash potatoes; prick several times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until done; cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp and reserve. Discard shells. Use a potato masher to mash the potato so it isn't so chunky.
Melt butter in a big pot over low heat; add flour stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium to medium heat high; stirring constantly until thick and bubbly (at least 30 minutes).
Stir in potato, salt, pepper, 1 cup cheese (I just do a big handful which is probably more than one cup), 1/2 cup bacon, and 2 tablespoons green onions. Cook until heated.
Stir in sour cream; cook just until heated (don't boil). Sprinkle servings with remaining cheese, bacon and onion and enjoy!
Recipe for Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls:
Ingredients:
-1/4 cup warm water
-1 cup tepid water
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
-3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
-1 beaten egg white
Instructions:
Pour the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes to activate the yeast. Once the top is foamy with bubbles, pour the yeast mixture into your mixing bowl. Also add the other cup of water and the salt. Mix this together. Add some drops of food coloring to color the water a nice orange color. I used liquid food coloring and put about 4 drops of red and 6 drops of yellow.
Next, attach the dough hook to the mixer. Add the flour a little bit at a time. Keep kneading the dough for another 2 minutes after all the flour is in. You’ll see a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Spray a large bowl with oil. Place dough into the oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let rise for 1 hour. It should double in size.
Flour your surface and rolling pin. Punch down the dough and remove it from the bowl. Remove a small handful of dough and add some green food coloring to it. Knead the dough to mix the color as thoroughly as possible and set aside. Knead the rest of your orange dough. Separate into 5 small round balls (for kid sized bread bowls) or make 4 round balls for a larger bread bowl.
Set your round dough balls on a greased cookie sheet. Take the green dough and make 4 or 5 small stems by making little round balls. Place the stems on the top and middle of your orange dough balls. Cover it again with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for another 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough is ready, beat the egg white and brush the top of the dough. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. When you tap it, it should sound hollow. Allow it to cool before slicing. Slice the top of the pumpkin bowl off and hollow out the inside of the pumpkin to make a hole for your soup to sit in. Now, fill with your favorite soup!
Here are some pictures from my cooking experience!
I've actually made the potato soup again since we tried it the first time. I got a potato masher instead of bending up my wire whisk again. I'm trying to find an easier way to mash up the potatoes. It takes an hour in the oven before I can even start skinning and mashing. Does anyone know if you can do this process in the microwave faster without losing quality?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Halloween?!?
Wait, wasn't that two weeks ago?? I'm a little behind on my blogging. I posted some pictures of Daisy yesterday and it got me back into the blogging spirit I guess.
So for Halloween, I was once again the Princess Pea from the book, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo who happens to be one of my favorite children's book authors! There were some pretty awesome and creative costumes in my class. Here is a collage I made in Picasa with some of my favorites + a class picture!
Doug and I also carved pumpkins and did all of that jazz, which reminds me that I probably should collect the water soaked, probably half rotten pumpkins from our front door. Doug carved the spider one on the left and I carved the amazingly terrified pumpkins on the right. No amazing creativity on our part, we just taped the patterns from the little 99 cent book we bought on clearance last year.
So for Halloween, I was once again the Princess Pea from the book, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo who happens to be one of my favorite children's book authors! There were some pretty awesome and creative costumes in my class. Here is a collage I made in Picasa with some of my favorites + a class picture!
Doug and I also carved pumpkins and did all of that jazz, which reminds me that I probably should collect the water soaked, probably half rotten pumpkins from our front door. Doug carved the spider one on the left and I carved the amazingly terrified pumpkins on the right. No amazing creativity on our part, we just taped the patterns from the little 99 cent book we bought on clearance last year.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
New Addition!
Doug's dad was visiting this last weekend and they decided to go to visit grandma for the weekend. While they were out on a walk, they saw a man walking his dog being followed by a kitten. When Doug and his dad remarked on how funny it was that the cat followed him while he walked the dog, the man told him that he didn't know who the cat belonged to. It turns out that the county/city where grandma lives has a rule that if you feed an animal it becomes yours. So... no one was feeding this poor kitten and it was running alongside a busy road. Doug and his dad decided to take it home to save it from being roadkill. I got a call Sunday afternoon... and well the rest is history.
Doug named her Daisy. The name isn't sticking with me quite yet, but I think it will in time. She's very dainty and she purrs as soon as you pick her up. Her purr is so loud that you can hear it across the room easily. When she chases the blanket monster, (a favorite activity for all of our cats) she actually bites the blanket and gets fuzz in her mouth. She's really quite cute!
Darwin and Lucky took some time to get used to her. Lucky has found a permanent hiding place in the laundry room and Darwin and Daisy have been running around the house like crazies all evening. I followed them around for a while with my camera trying to get some shots where they weren't all blurry.
Which one should I put in my sidebar as a picture of Daisy?
Doug named her Daisy. The name isn't sticking with me quite yet, but I think it will in time. She's very dainty and she purrs as soon as you pick her up. Her purr is so loud that you can hear it across the room easily. When she chases the blanket monster, (a favorite activity for all of our cats) she actually bites the blanket and gets fuzz in her mouth. She's really quite cute!
Darwin and Lucky took some time to get used to her. Lucky has found a permanent hiding place in the laundry room and Darwin and Daisy have been running around the house like crazies all evening. I followed them around for a while with my camera trying to get some shots where they weren't all blurry.
Which one should I put in my sidebar as a picture of Daisy?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
TP Pet Peeve
I found this picture on Google images while searching for pictures of arrays for a fourth grade computer lab activity that I am cooking up. It made me chuckle and reminded me of full out wars that we used to have at my house growing up. I found it on some site called treehugger.com. I guess that it was on this site because it helps conserve toilet paper or something like that.
People putting the toilet paper on the wrong way has always been a pet peeve of mine. I'm thinking about posting this picture above the toilet paper roll at my parents house just to prove a point. I know I'm weird, but does anyone else feel this way??
Have you ever had an argument over the direction of the toilet paper?
People putting the toilet paper on the wrong way has always been a pet peeve of mine. I'm thinking about posting this picture above the toilet paper roll at my parents house just to prove a point. I know I'm weird, but does anyone else feel this way??
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Rainy Day Car Shopping
With my car suddenly going kaput, we needed another vehicle to get me to work ASAP. Luckily, the art teacher at my school lives like 3 houses down from us so it was easy for me to hitch a ride with her to and from work all week. I usually stay quite a bit later than her and arrive a little earlier than her so it made it an interesting week, but I was EXTREMELY grateful to have a way to get to work.
Doug had been thinking about trading in his 2004 Civic Hybrid because it wasn't as good for his new commute that involves more high speed interstate travel rather than the stop and go traffic of his last commute. My commute IS stop and go traffic so we decided get a new car for him to drive and I would drive his "old" one.
It's never the best condition to have to buy a car when you ABSOLUTELY need it, but this was our situation. Friday after school was out, Doug picked me up and we started right away visiting dealerships all around the DC metro area. We were looking for a sedan/coupe that cost under $12K, had around 50K miles, was newer than a 2004, and was preferably a Honda or Toyota. (Doug also wanted to get a manual transmission...) We knew that it would be quite the challenge to find such a vehicle, but we weren't going to settle unless such a car did not exist.
It's been pouring down a depressing, very cold, yucky rain since Thursday, so we were the only people out looking for cars. We visited some pretty interesting places from hits that we found on autotrader.com and cars.com. Whenever we got there, the cars that we were interested in were either gone already or hadn't been taken care of. We didn't even get the chance to haggle on a car because they all stunk. They even sat us down to talk to The Manager who asked us, "What can we do to get you into a car today?" It was pretty annoying and exhausting at the same time. We left the last used car place at 9:00pm Friday night and headed home pretty discouraged.
We started early this morning hoping to have better luck at a Honda Certified Dealership up in Maryland where my parents had bought their Odyssey a few years back. We were a little skeptical because these places usually run more expensive. When we arrived, they actually had already sold the two cars that we had come to see, but we decided to stick around and test drive some anyways.
We test drove a 2007 Honda Accord SE first, but Doug wanted to try out a 5 speed. We got into another 2007 Accord that was a 5 speed, but it had some burn marks in the back seat and was more expensive. The last car we test drove was a very low mileage 2008 Honda Civic SI Coupe (2 door) that was a 5 speed. Doug LOVED driving it. I liked the first Accord, but Doug really liked the Civic. Both had their sell points...
The salesman that we worked with was much better than the others that we had encountered the previous day. He was up front with us and supported our decisions. He didn't try to push us up on the price tag by showing us cars outside of our preferred range. He was just a nice guy AND he listened. He left us for a while so we could discuss the decision privately.
I felt really bad as the wife to have to ground Doug, aka Mr. Practical, with practicality because I wanted him to be able to get the fun car. Kids or no kids, Doug drags around a bunch of stuff in his car and it would be hard to get to the back seat without 4 doors. In the end, Doug agreed with me and we decided that the 2007 Accord would be the best buy for our family.
Well, here's our new car... well, at least it's new to us.
2007 Honda Accord SE
Doug had been thinking about trading in his 2004 Civic Hybrid because it wasn't as good for his new commute that involves more high speed interstate travel rather than the stop and go traffic of his last commute. My commute IS stop and go traffic so we decided get a new car for him to drive and I would drive his "old" one.
It's never the best condition to have to buy a car when you ABSOLUTELY need it, but this was our situation. Friday after school was out, Doug picked me up and we started right away visiting dealerships all around the DC metro area. We were looking for a sedan/coupe that cost under $12K, had around 50K miles, was newer than a 2004, and was preferably a Honda or Toyota. (Doug also wanted to get a manual transmission...) We knew that it would be quite the challenge to find such a vehicle, but we weren't going to settle unless such a car did not exist.
It's been pouring down a depressing, very cold, yucky rain since Thursday, so we were the only people out looking for cars. We visited some pretty interesting places from hits that we found on autotrader.com and cars.com. Whenever we got there, the cars that we were interested in were either gone already or hadn't been taken care of. We didn't even get the chance to haggle on a car because they all stunk. They even sat us down to talk to The Manager who asked us, "What can we do to get you into a car today?" It was pretty annoying and exhausting at the same time. We left the last used car place at 9:00pm Friday night and headed home pretty discouraged.
We started early this morning hoping to have better luck at a Honda Certified Dealership up in Maryland where my parents had bought their Odyssey a few years back. We were a little skeptical because these places usually run more expensive. When we arrived, they actually had already sold the two cars that we had come to see, but we decided to stick around and test drive some anyways.
We test drove a 2007 Honda Accord SE first, but Doug wanted to try out a 5 speed. We got into another 2007 Accord that was a 5 speed, but it had some burn marks in the back seat and was more expensive. The last car we test drove was a very low mileage 2008 Honda Civic SI Coupe (2 door) that was a 5 speed. Doug LOVED driving it. I liked the first Accord, but Doug really liked the Civic. Both had their sell points...
The salesman that we worked with was much better than the others that we had encountered the previous day. He was up front with us and supported our decisions. He didn't try to push us up on the price tag by showing us cars outside of our preferred range. He was just a nice guy AND he listened. He left us for a while so we could discuss the decision privately.
I felt really bad as the wife to have to ground Doug, aka Mr. Practical, with practicality because I wanted him to be able to get the fun car. Kids or no kids, Doug drags around a bunch of stuff in his car and it would be hard to get to the back seat without 4 doors. In the end, Doug agreed with me and we decided that the 2007 Accord would be the best buy for our family.
Well, here's our new car... well, at least it's new to us.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
RIP 1999 Honda Accord
Honda Accord, 10 years of age with 180k miles, died October 13, 2009, of transmission complications.
Honda joined our small family of two in the early spring of 2004 from the Brent Brown Dealership in Provo, Utah. Bought in the early days of our relationship, you were our first big financial decision made together. We toiled several hours after finding you wondering if you would be the right one for our family. After many tears, prayers, and a co-signing from my dad, you were finally ours.
The night before we took you home, we sat at the dealership in your leather seats and contemplated the big decision we were making. We were worried about the monthly car/insurance payments we would need to make on top of our rent and tuition payments as poor college students. But, we were also tickled at the thought of taking you home and gaining independence from The Bus. No more grocery trips in the roommate's car, no more bus rides to the movie theater for a date, and maybe.. just maybe, a trip to Squaw Peak to "see the stars of Provo".
We've been through good times and bad times... speeding tickets, cross country road trips (5 to be exact), and many many hours of commuting. I've spent many hours at your wheel thinking about life in general. Many important life changing decisions have been made as I have pondered at your wheel while driving the 45 minutes to and from work every day. You have been a good car.
Honda is survived by owners Doug and Jenny and a younger, more spry Honda Civic Hybrid sibling that hopefully has a lot more life in it.
Honda, you will be missed... but remembered fondly around tax season as we submit your donation to a charitable foundation as a tax deduction.
Honda joined our small family of two in the early spring of 2004 from the Brent Brown Dealership in Provo, Utah. Bought in the early days of our relationship, you were our first big financial decision made together. We toiled several hours after finding you wondering if you would be the right one for our family. After many tears, prayers, and a co-signing from my dad, you were finally ours.
The night before we took you home, we sat at the dealership in your leather seats and contemplated the big decision we were making. We were worried about the monthly car/insurance payments we would need to make on top of our rent and tuition payments as poor college students. But, we were also tickled at the thought of taking you home and gaining independence from The Bus. No more grocery trips in the roommate's car, no more bus rides to the movie theater for a date, and maybe.. just maybe, a trip to Squaw Peak to "see the stars of Provo".
We've been through good times and bad times... speeding tickets, cross country road trips (5 to be exact), and many many hours of commuting. I've spent many hours at your wheel thinking about life in general. Many important life changing decisions have been made as I have pondered at your wheel while driving the 45 minutes to and from work every day. You have been a good car.
Honda is survived by owners Doug and Jenny and a younger, more spry Honda Civic Hybrid sibling that hopefully has a lot more life in it.
Honda, you will be missed... but remembered fondly around tax season as we submit your donation to a charitable foundation as a tax deduction.
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